Alonso says he will quit F1 if season expands to 25 races

"We have to win", he explained. "If we are winning before September, or something like that, I will make a decision I will stay".

Alonso's comments follow McLaren executive director Zak Brown expressing "serious concerns" about Honda and saying the team was "near our limit". I think I developed my skills to drive F1 cars for the last 16 years, so the best auto that I can drive is still a Formula One vehicle. "We've been clear that we want him to stay and he's been clear he wants to stay but we need a better race vehicle so that's where our attention is on".

A sympathetic Brown said in that same interview that he totally understood Alonso's frustration because it matched his own, but hoped that the Spaniard would not make any rash decisions.

"What we all want is to win", he said. After three years we are not in that position so things have to change, I guess for the team.

Fernando Alonso's contract with McLaren-Honda expires after this season, but the team doesn't have that long to convince him to stay. If you don't see things changing and you are not in a competitive position maybe you change projects.

"That's the only thing I can say now. Until I sit down with myself, in September/October, whenever, I can not say anything 100%".

"It is the best vehicle I can drive, the F1". But at another time I can jump in any vehicle, in any category, with any tyres, with any rules that I go there and I'm competitive.

Liberty's moustachioed chief executive Chase Carey has spoken of wanting four races in the States - ideally adding Las Vegas, New York and Miami to the existing Austin grand prix - as part of an expanded programme rising from 20 to 25.

Alonso, who praised the open and happy atmosphere he found at Indianapolis, confirmed also that he would quit F1 if the calendar is to be enlarged to 25 races from 20. "You never know", he smiled, "you can not be 100 per cent certain in June about a decision for next year that I don't even start to consider". "We're at a number now (20) which is quite demanding, and the life you have between the preparations, the sponsor events, the test and the commitments you have, plus the 20 or 21 races you have, is already enough". As I said in how demanding becomes your life, and at this point of my career, I consider a good quality of life is more important than to do more seasons in F1.

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